wants 2 suprise husband with Jon boat but clueless

Hello! I found this site by searching the Internet for Jon boats. My husband has been talking about finding a "2 man boat" with a motor to take to local ponds fishing. He will be taking our two sons (6 & 9) with him at times. He mentioned it fitting in his truck bed, a trolling motor and it being small enough he can load/unload on his own.
I have no idea where or what to look for. I would really love to suprise him b/c I can hardly ever find anything he wants/needs! Price range is under 1500.00
Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!
Thx!

Nice of you.

Craig's list, buy used, 12 foot length minimum. There are MANY good, used, boats, often with trailer and accessories like a trolling motor which might be available for $500 or so.

With the kids, a twelve foot could get cramped. Fourteen foot long boat would be better, depending on how it fit in the truck bed.

Best wishes. Really a nice gift idea. =D>

what state are you in?

Ky

14' alumacraft 699.99, 45 lb trolling motor about 299.99, battery 100.00. Academy sports I think you have these in ky. Doesnt look like there is any in KY, how far to Tenn are you? A 14' alumacraft should be in that price range most everywhere tho.

This is a good deal, what area of craigslist would you be looking, this is Lexington.

https://lexington.craigslist.org/boa/3042855469.html

The way things work around my house is that I would ask for just the boat, wait a few months and start dropping hint about a trailer, few more months a motor, and on and on. It is not that I don't want all those things together, it is that I am afraid I will sticker shock the wife and the whole thing will get shelved "Till we have the money.".

I bought my boat, motor, trailer and quite a few accessories all for $1500.00. It is a 16' Polar-craft, with a 25 hp mariner engine. If you have the room to store a trailer with the boat, I would recommend getting the trailer, save you beloved husbands back.

I used Craigslist list to find my setup, They have some good deals but you can also get burnt by dishonest people. You can also check you local classified add page.

Lots of boat shops will have a used listing you could check there.

You can go with new, but like a car the value is going to drop when you drive off the lot.

If he plans to boat with 2 adult children, I would not go with smaller than 14', if anyone plans to bring a friend, go with a 16'.

There is always the "Gift Certificate" Get him a card and make a fake check for $1500.00 and let him pick out what he wants whether it be used or new. Then write the real check once he has decided what he wants. A lot of the fun is picking out what you want, looking at this and that and trying to get a good deal.

How ever you decide to do it, I'm sure he will love it and you as well.

Craigslist would be my guess.

In my area one was 14', trailer and a 30hp outboard for 1500.

Think of if he wants a finished boat or one he and the boys could work on together.

make sure to get something over 36" wide at bottom or it will be tippy with kids.

I agree with Dragonman. Buy a toy boat and stuff it with money or a check along with the link for TinBoats.net. Then you two can shop together.

What a cool gift but unless he has been looking and you know what he wants, the toy boat with the PO (Purchase Order) attached with the spending limit on it might be a better idea. Like someone said part of the fun in getting a boat is the shopping and figuring out what you want.

Then you come here and figure out what you can do to it or get ideas.

Good Luck

The best performance for the buck is get something 14' or longer, with a trailer, off of craigslist. If you're dead set on a pick-up bed boat, 12' x36" (probably the only size that will fit) flatbottom john boats can be found new at various Cabelas and Bass Proshops for around $600-700. I'd say the flat bottom john boats are the best for your needs. The flat bottoms give better stabilitiy and allow the little guys the ability to walk around. Anything with a V-bottom, that is small enough to fit in a pick-up is going to be rather tippy. Craigslist will get you more stuff for the money, but no guarantees the boat won't leak, and that the motor works. New is very expensive, but offers the piece of mind of stuff that will work, right outta the box. If you have to buy new stuff, Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop allow you to ship as "gift packages" that are just plain brown boxes with out any incrimnating, sooper-dooper mega store labeling.

After You Find A Boat For The Men In Your Life, Be Sure To Point "Dad" To TinBoats.net. . . So He Can Get Some GREAT Ideas To Mod The Boat, And We Can Watch The Fun You All Will Be Having With It And Each Other !

Craigslist all day long, and thank god for women like you!!

Thank you all so much for the ideas!!!!!! I will probably do the toy boat idea. But I really wanted to surprise him. I do know he would not want to work on it at all. We are very busy with work and kids sports. So I would say it needs to be finished. He has been looking on Craigslist and eBay.
I will for sure point him back to this website. I think I may print out the responses so he knows I tried to find what he wants!
Thanks again!!